Friday, 1 November 2013

My author spotlight falls on ~ Nadine Christian

Nadine ~ welcome to Jaffareadstoo and thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.

Quintal's Return is the first book in your Bounty's Retreat
series - what can you tell us about the story?

I wrote QR on the premise of a hotel and airport being built
on the island. Considering that the island isn't really big enough to support
an airport, and we do home-stays as there is no hotel, it was more than fiction
--- more like a pipe-dream! It ended up being fun designing a resort
that would still merge in with the surroundings and creating an airport out of
nothing.

Do you outline the plot first, or do you let the story go
wherever it takes you?

Uh, for Quintals I let the story lead me. It had been
burning a hole in my brain for a long time, and when I finally did get it down
on paper it needed a ton of revision. I think I re-wrote the first chapter
three or four times. Nowadays I tend to do an outline and go from there.

Do you ever base your characters on people you know?

I really can't say. There are too little people here on
island to say yes -- they might get offended! LOL Seriously though I think I
take a little personality from everyone. The nasty characters I write are
things I've seen, and felt myself -- it's sort of cathartic to write
them!

How important is location to your story?

Very. I've based all my books on the island. Where I live is
so vibrantly different to anywhere else. Isolated, unpolluted, time stops
according to weather or whim! It's historic -- not only because of the Bounty
Mutineers, but because the stone here mined by the early Polynesians can be
found all over the South Pacific! This island was once a quarry for the
ancients!

Have you always wanted to be a writer?

I always wanted to be a reader. I LOVE books. I can sit down
and devour a book in a day, look up and wonder where I am. I just dissolve
totally into a good story. I wanted to see if I could do that to someone --
totally immerse them in my world. I hope I can do that.

When do you find the time to write, and do you have a
favourite place to do your writing?

I usually write when the kids are at school and my wee one
is having her daily nap. Music off, TV off, and hands on the keyboard! No
favourite place, just need to have my laptop, a coffee and quiet.

Can you tell us what you are writing next ?

Definitely not a romance! I'm three chapters into something
outside the box and enjoying it! I hope to be able to share it with you soon!

About the author

Nadine
Christian lives on Pitcairn Island, a small isle in the middle of the
South Pacific, with her husband, five children, four goats, two cats and
thirty chickens. With its rich maritime history, Pitcairn’s romantic
past comes alive in her novels, capturing the taste of life on an
isolated tropical island, miles from the rush and bustle of normal city
life.

Nadine ~ thank you for spending time on our blog. Jaffa and I wish you continued success with your writing career.

***

My thoughts on Quintal's Return

When Kate Quintal and her sister
Jen return to Pitcairn Island to take over the running of a new luxury hotel,
they are little prepared for the events which unfold. All is not well in this
corner of paradise, and the added complication of a promising romance with a
handsome islander only makes life even more difficult for Kate.

I was drawn into Kate and Jen’s
story from the beginning. The author writes with great conviction and makes
both the characters and the delicious backdrop of Pitcairn come gloriously alive.
The author has a real talent for storytelling, she brings the scenery, place
and people together in such a way that I imagined that I had actually been to the
island, and could well imagine the sights and sounds for myself. Only someone
who knows the island and islanders well could have made this story so
believable, it is obvious that the author has a real love for, and an affinity
with, this corner of the South Pacific.

The second book in the Bounty
Retreat Series is Home again, Home again. It is published on the 1st November
2013. I am sure that Nadine’s countless fans are eagerly looking forward to a
continuation of the story.